Active vs. Passive Bass Guitars: Which to Buy | Reverb

Are you a bassist wondering whether to buy an active or passive bass? Also: what's the difference between the two? Our very own low-key hero, Jake Hawrylak, is in the studio running through the benefits of each so you can make an informed decision before you make your next purchase.
Read more on Reverb: goo.gl/bLZ7PE

[@garyjones7044]

I've been told by a few people that my bass playing sounds best with active pickups and dead batteries.

[@taylorvella3]

🤣🤣🤣

[@samsmelser_]

Lol😂😂😂🤣🤣

[@VmShpman82]

hahahahaha. wow !!

[@thelifeofpewpew3290]

Oh nice, I've been told my bass playing sounds best when I leave it at home 🙃

[@GuitarType01]

Is that because you get no sound?

[@saam6768]

The best is a passive/active bass with a dead battery so you have a kill switch.

[@CaseSet236]

But why? Why would I want any of that

[@mangmang3855]

Haha I have an active bass and I did this for like three months just cause the on off switch was so handy

[@CaseSet236]

@@mangmang3855 how is that handy?

[@hyalinamusic18]

kim linnerkvist Well, it helps to turn the volume down, and it could lend to some cool sounds. See Tom Morello for example.

[@CaseSet236]

@@hyalinamusic18 yeah I know who Tom is. he's an amazing guitarist but we're talking bass. I just can't see the use of having a killswitch and if you're gonna have one wouldn't it be better to wire an actual switch instead of using the pickup selector

[@pCeLobster]

95% of the time, even in an active bass, the pickups are still passive pickups. "Active" in this context refers to the presence of the onboard preamp. The only actual active pickups you will commonly see are EMG's.

[@danielbrown8556]

I guess that's why they say active *bass*

[@kimseniorb]

Yes this vid doesn’t make much sense, active pups is a different concept. They should’ve used the 3rd bass with EMG or MEC pickups

[@leFoodeater]

In my experience people calls it active pickups even though it is wrong. I've been a bass player for 14 years and it was only recently that I learned about this lol. To my excuse, I go my first active bass this year.

[@brenlouissurio2404]

@@leFoodeater lol. That's okay. Been playing for years too, less than your years. I thought active is just for preamp. But as long as I like the sound, I don't give a fuck ha.

[@maxjbg]

And MECs

[@MachSea]

Yeah, im definetly going passive. -Confused electric guitar player

[@nathanwebb1327]

Same man same

[@shamerzaihan8638]

Active bass master race

[@VmShpman82]

I think both passive & Active are good, but It all depends on what your trying to achieve. To me Passive is either good for jazz & backkground bass lines like for either light jazz or easy listening music. Active are real bright if you want them to be & helps cut thru the muffle sound . I know to each their own, I use to hear that flat wound strings on a passive bass, worked good for studio recording. Then again Actives have been used on studio work as well. You have to experiment. If the shoe fits wear it.

[@basicoptimalmouse]

"Passive bass doesn't cut through" *Laughs in Steve Harris

[@TinyDragon]

Bradley S true he cuts through but he also plays a rack rig setup through Marshall guitar cabs which gives some of the “clack” to his tone as well as his technique

[@parkerdavidson5868]

Not to mention he plays freakin FLATwounds

[@ChadHargis]

I was thinking the same thing.....poor Jaco must not have cut through either with his passive Jazz bass. Fact is...a passive bass plugged into an amp has a preamp.

[@EpicStuffMan1000]

@@ChadHargis everyone knows that, it's just a preamp before a preamp adds even more tonal shaping. what the greats did worked for them, what people do now works for them too. that's what matters

[@southofheck]

To be fair, iron maiden has a pretty clear cut sound, its not like death metal where you can barely tell the two guitarists apart, let alone the bassist

[@jaco20443]

0:09 GENERAL KENOBI

[@enriquemendez1507]

You cant do that

[@TheAcContreras]

didn't get it🤔

[@yigitcengil2465]

A Star wars comment in a bass video huh? A surprise to be sure but a welcome one.

[@viceng.6311]

@@yigitcengil2465 you are underresting his power

[@yigitcengil2465]

@@viceng.6311 Not intention of doing that man. I`m just a simple man trying to make my way in the universe.

[@BZK33]

There is some misinformation in this video 1- a active bass is not always louder than a passive bass 2 - most of the time pickups are passive, active basses are passive pickups with active preamp 3 - an active bass is not cutting through the mix better, but the active preamp is there to help you cut through the mix if you use it well. 4 - Dynamics is not better on a passive bass. 5 - if a preamp compress the bass sound, then it is not designed well. 6 - "active" preamps are like effect pedal, they have buffers inside to adapt impedance to the next source in the chain. Clearly bass mythologie and BS information will have a long life with this kind of videos

[@DavidChampoux]

100% agree. This video is full of sh**... I'm surprised, because Reverb normally post great vids with nice and accurate info. This one should be deleted ASAP.

[@seenbelow]

You're wrong about dynamics.

[@boogie8008]

Came here to say this

[@StarZendonna1687]

I agree I mean this video is about picking favorites not making equal sense here

[@shahi4827]

is tone suck really that bad?

[@spynae]

ACTIVE PICKUPS ARE NOT THE SAME THING AS AN ACTIVE PREAMP COMBINED WITH PASSIVE PICKUPS. And yes, this is a relevant criticism of this video because it says in the thumbnail "Active bass pickups." Active pickups are pickups with incredibly low impedance due to the low number of winds of wire. This produces a pickup with no resonance peak or cut frequencies, but they also do not produce a signal loud enough for general use; thus, most active pickups either have a preamp built into the pickup themselves (such as EMG pickups and some MEC pickups that Warwick uses) or require a more typical onboard preamp (such as Alembic's pickups) in order to add gain to the signal. Those pickups with builtin preamps also typically include a built-in EQ curve to offset the flat frequency response of an unaffected active pickup.

[@user-pp3bf3he1c]

"active pups" generally are pickups that use active (not passive) electronics. That's why they called active. So, passive pickups with built-in preamp are active pickups by definition. Everything else is just a commercial bullshit.

[@mattymodeerf]

+Антон Кузнецов no. theyre quite different dude

[@user-pp3bf3he1c]

@@mattymodeerf oh, really? ) well, everyone need some miracle mojo to believe

[@MuscleDad420]

The model they used in the video for the "active" portion has passive pickups paired with an active preamp, hence the active on/off switch to run passive. So poo poo on you

[@joseortegabeede8233]

Active pickups have a battery connected to each pickup, and they have much less copper wire because the extra electricity provided by the battery makes up for it. Passive pickups wired to an active pre-amp are NOT active pickups, but of course they benefit from the active EQ.

[@dhruvchandra6049]

This man is great! He explains everything so well and so simply. Reverb, please put out more videos with him in them.

[@leaguelongclips247]

Very impressive but... Oh wait wrong channel

[@yokomex]

Davieeeeeeee hahah

[@ianprescott7924]

Very original

[@alanr.4812]

I got the reference

[@fysy9989]

You are a man of culture!

[@maceportier7073]

Ivan Tabusao 😎

[@hyalinamusic18]

I've got a jazz bass with passive pickups and an Ibanez soundgear with active pickups. I like both, each are good for different situations.

[@-k-b-]

I find passive pickups to always sound better, it really comes down to player/amp set up/pedals/etc. So active electronics or pickups just make shit even more complicated

[@mrpres17]

I have some Bill Lawrence pickups that are so hot, they're almost in the ballpark of an active pickup. They also have way more clarity than the stocks pickups. I'd definitely buy them again because of the awesome tone 🤘

[@sbentsen2714]

Man I’m done with Active basses, I’m so glad I don’t hv to deal with the battery issue anymore. So lame, for my situation how often I play & hv to leave it plugged in, etc Active no bueno. Also I found dynamically Active pickups aren’t as open to responding to how much energy I put into notes. I love being able to tell the bass how to sound, thru my fingers & my playing. Love it 😁

[@EMan-tp4zp]

ive had batteries go mid-song. Carried spares, just a pain

[@paulraffles87]

Active pickup? I think it is passive pickup with preamp.

[@rockereivanivan]

Exactly my thoughts, hate when people confuse those, basically you have 4 options, passive pick-ups no preamp, passive pick-ups woth active preamp (the best option I believe), active pickups without preamp and finally active pickups with active preamp

[@PinguinoSod]

@@rockereivanivan and then multiply this by precission, jazz and pj basses and you have 36 different bass options to choose :(

[@HeLicks]

@paperchasin23 chill out lol

[@Sjrm126]

You can also have active preamp with an active preamps

[@chiharutakahashi5112]

Eivan lml I prefer the simplicity of calling them either active or passive Basses, even if the pickups are either passive or active I like to call them what they are based on how many knobs are on the bass rather then the pickups itself. As I cannot find much examples of a bass with an active pickup without a preamp either I am looking at the wrong place or the wrong brand.

[@ianjohnson4987]

Really helpful. Love your tone on the passive demo. Thanks

[@nikwik5351]

Passive basses make so much more sense, I'd rather have my pre-amp / DI on my pedalboard

[@bak1386]

I prefer a passive bass these days. The tone is much more mellow and smooth to my ear. Plus, like he was saying, especially with a p or even a jazz, it's very simple. The older I get, the more I appreciate simplicity lol. I'm not much of a slapper either so that has guided me more toward the good ole p bass

[@EMan-tp4zp]

I learned Higher Ground and everyone associated me w/slap. I learned double thumbing...yet thier are people that do it way smoother. Of course, drummer is nervous and comes in at %40-%50 quicker. Leftie guitarist w/locked whammy bar doesn't have a back up and breaks a string. No other lefties...nothing like moving yer gear for 15mins of playing. We were recording from the board for "trouble shooting". I quit next day. If i hear a Seinfeld theme request one more time...

[@orengesus5080]

@@EMan-tp4zp who asked

[@christhepocketmasterr]

@@orengesus5080 You're rude. Have some class.

[@cacaman17]

I agree, also noticed that with certain great bassists, Geddy Lee and Flea for example, they started with crazy ass active basses and all ended up with passive fender basses.

[@VanjaSpirin]

This is a tipical story of an old bassist who can't play bass well. This p-bass cult. Stingray is also simple instrument, but sits much better in a mix.

[@VmShpman82]

I knew there were batteries in my bass, but I didn't realize how the batteries can go to waste. I've never heard of Lakland basses before. I never really researched pick-up history before either. Thanks for the good video. I like both Passive & Active.

[@chris2fur401]

I prefer both. I do session work in the studio and fill in for people often at live gigs. It depends on what style you’re playing. For a beginner, I’d look into a bass with a active/passive switch maybe.

[@guydude6546]

Active pickups made much more sense back in the 70s and 80s, but nowadays when the amps can easily make up for the low output of the pickups i just don't see the point, passive for me anytime

[@kimseniorb]

Guy Dude he was only talking about passive pickups and preamps. Active pickups is a different concept whatsoever

[@guydude6546]

@@kimseniorb true, I overlooked that, though i still think active preamps are somewhat redundant, i guess an onbord EQ would be useful but i can't think of an ocassion where i'd need to change my eq settings in the middle of a song

[@kimseniorb]

Guy Dude I agree unless we are talking about emg or mec pickups, which sound really different and not only eq-boost wise. Just a different architecture

[@kimseniorb]

But speaking of passive+preams I agree in today’s world its not essential

[@spynae]

Most (if not all) amps lack a low-impedance input (XLR inputs on amps tend to expect line-level signal) that would facilitate the use of an unaided "active" pickup's low output; in general they need at least some source of gain for the natural capacitance of a long cable to not reduce the signal to nothing by the time it would even reach the amp. The signal-to-noise ratio would be far too low if you relied solely on the gain in the preamp stage of the amplifier (or elsewhere in your signal chain, such as from a boost pedal, a compressor, or pedal with buffered bypass) in order to boost the signal of a low-impedance pickup (this problem is compounded by the use of regular instrument cables, which are more susceptible to picking up external noise than, say, an XLR cable; noise which would be amplified at the preamp stage). That's why very low-impedance pickups are basically unheard of, despite the flat frequency response being fairly ideal with some good signal processing. The only exception I can think of off the top of my head is the specific low-impedance pickup used in Warwick's Jonas Hellborg bass; while it has an onboard buffer for a 1/4" output, that can be bypassed with a balanced XLR output that requires the bass to plug into a microphone preamp (or, presumably, any instrument amplifier with a balanced input which provides gain).

[@zingbasstube]

Omg! You are talking about "active preamp" and "passive electronic" on bass. Not active or passive pickups. Please stop say that again.

[@BZK33]

This video is full of shit man.. don't bother.

[@innocentoctave]

I think it was a good decision to emphasise that the real difference between passive and active basses is not the pickups themselves, but how much boost and EQ control you want on the instrument itself. You can do everything that the onboard preamp and EQ do with pedals or other outboard gear, all of which is powered ('active') in one way or another. Having that stuff on the bass itself is a major convenience in some situations: but since the pickups themselves are passive, regardless of the active circuitry, there will always be another way to get those sounds.

[@markrodgers2976]

Solid presentation. And, what I personally came away with from this, is that now I KNOW I don't want an active bass !! (i'm a big fan of simplicity).

[@rosewurkz]

Thanks for the clarity and simplicity ☺️

[@joeyfitz9]

I love this guy. He's thorough, direct, straight to the point. Thank you! And he's playing Jamerson @1:57. Yes.

[@LanceWillMakeIt]

Well, a lot of this is misinformation

[@bookbm]

Jake Hawrylak, I wanted to say thanks for all the bass videos you are doing. Selection is limited in my opinion, you provide that shit we need to be aware of as bassists.

[@Jack-pp2ng]

My first bass was active, it sounded good for a while but then started crapping out on me so I just took out the active circuit and made it a passive bass, I prefer passive

[@limitededition1053]

If you already have a passive bass then just buy an FX pedal to make it active and in fact get more tonal options than with active pickups.

[@julianthesmooshyhusky8976]

The push/pull bypass is the great equalizer. I usually rock it passive and just use active mode for a little extra boost for slap or soloing.

[@PMAWoodner]

Super helpful video - thanks man!

[@gnpahdc]

1) He seemed to confuse active pickup (rare) with active instrument via preamp (common) with his erroneous use of the term "active pickup" when he meant "active bass". 2) He said a passive bass is "more work" for tone shaping due to lack of control knobs on the instrument. That is false. The work is simply at a different physical location. And one could argue that a passive is less work period, as your FOH will do it for you - literally. 3) He stated several times he would use the same instrument for consistency of comparisons, and then used a P/J for the active. And please tell me I wasn't hearing flats on the passive P and rounds on the active P/J. 4) He said that an active gives you more volume so you have to be careful. That is false - it's the signal that is different, not the volume as such. 5) He said that an active bass cuts through better, especially against loud drums or if you're playing pick. That is oversimplifying to the point of being false. It's not the bass that is helpful or less helpful - it's the musicians, the settings they individually use, and the one mixing the house; those are what must be right. If no one is competent an active bass will give you an unfair advantage but only if you don't know how to use your amp volume knob or bought an amp that is insufficient. Ok, I'll stop. Gosh. This vid is disappointing.

[@robertogrady2798]

Excellent, clear info for me - brand new to bass. Cheers 👍👍👍

[@slw59]

Love the look of that passive deluxe p-bass!

[@thekatazsiuniverse4868]

"Passive probably won't cut through in punk and metal", I raise you Steve Harris

[@arthuraguirrejr.9500]

I'm gonna go on a bit of a tangent here: I can't hear Steve's bass live. I feel the presence of a bass, but I can't hear his iconic basslines. Tbh in any big bass arena/stadium, any bassist's tone that I admire gets lost in the sauce.

[@Geriatric_Punk]

Thank you for the video. It aswered a lot of questions I had.

[@Romans1-8]

Good looking out! Nice video man!

[@markbrock4170]

Okay. I came to this instruction with an intellectually honest and open mind. I learned on a 1972 passive Fender Precision. I seemed to be able to cut through all of the noise of the drums and the lead guitars. I also was able to slap, pull and pop like I do on an active bass. Therefore, based on your statements I should have been an excellent bass player. However, I wasn't. The question still stands, passive or active? Based on your instruction, I would humbly have to say active. No more teaching for the progression of active basses, I would presume? Balance, my friend.

[@user-lb3pd1ne8t]

thanks for upload! I understaned the difference active bass and passive bass WOW!

[@TheOverlordOfProcrastination]

That passive Precision sounds fucking AWESOME.

[@kimbaptempura4073]

What a fantastic video!!!!!! SO MUCH INFO FOR BEGINNERS!

[@raine4214]

Alembic was the first company to offer active bass options in the early 1970's. Thank them for not only producing some of the best guitars out there, but for also setting the standard on active electronics

[@larslevinberget9558]

Their guitars were never popular, but their Basses very good and the electronics superb! You could take an old Fender P-bass, install Alembic electronics and it would sound like a million bucks through a Peavey TNT-amp!

[@vonicrimson3619]

I always go active because metal. I use mainly a stingray, I also prefer schecter since they’re really awesome for my style. And yes I sweep pick on bass.

[@PSXBOX-lz1zq]

Me too, after playing passive for years, after i shifted to using active I cant go back to passive, and Im also a metal bass player

[@VanjaSpirin]

@@PSXBOX-lz1zq I am old metal bass player. So I spent many years trying to get Steve Harris tone, wich is basically p-bass and Trace Eliott. And the best aggresive and punchy bass tone is with Ampeg and active Stingray to my taste. Not a big fan of a p-bass, partially because of a p-bass cult, where everybody histerically adores p-bass. In gets on my nerves.

[@juzek1958]

I love my '97 Fender Jazz Deluxe (1 9vt always on). I can use flat wounds and cut thru the mix.

[@Angelr_1028]

I’m happy with my fender jazz bass with Aguilar pickups 😎😍

[@bobs1540]

I think both active and passive are great. Sure it may not be truly active pick ups but still there’s a difference in set up. But either way no matter what you’re playing it can all be shaped with your hands and other materials at your disposal. Most people at a gig wouldn’t know the friggin difference if it was active or passive bass. You would just listen to the tone and like it or not.

[@jamessmith-zk4co]

Excellent video! Very informative, but you're talking about basses with onboard preamps compared to passive basses, right? Thanks so much for doing this vid.

[@CNick75]

A lot of misleading generalizations, half-truths and misinformed opinions in this video. I respect the effort but this has a lot of bad information in it mixed in with a few good points.

[@TonySnider69]

I am planning on getting a bass. It is active/passive since I have no idea what I want. I really enjoyed the video.

[@ronherrera6651]

Nice job on that Jamerson Motown lick on the P bass.

[@geerhoar]

I like to noodle with effects and find a passive bass works best for those. There are outboard preamps one can use if you want some eq and color

[@krishall9225]

I really enjoy this host and the channel's content, but when you emphasize so much how well one type cuts through other instruments versus another, maybe Reverb should invite other musicians to demonstrate that difference. Just a thought

[@renecruzmusic]

Love it dude!

[@Bottomdweller]

The funny thing is, contrary to what he says there aren't any "active pickup" basses in this video at all, they all have passive pickups. Active bass and active pickup are actually two totally different things.

[@DontFeedTheTrolls]

Great video! Active vs. passive is less important to an audio engineer. Either way, it comes down to signal-to-noise ratio and that can be improved through isolation. The best players have precise control over the dynamics with a limit to how loud it gets. Whatever you do, Don't try to win at the bass by being louder. It's a guaranteed way to suck.

[@Noone-of-your-Business]

I beg to differ. Cutting through the mix depends on sound shaping, and you can (in fact, _should_ ) do that in the pre section of your bass amp. You also usually have more complex shaping options there than the basic bass/mid/treble on your "active" instrument. Signal degradation in the cable is really the only argument for me to ever use active. And while some might argue that an "active" signal has slightly more dynamics, I dare say you can match the active vs. passive sounds of the same instrument with appropriate pre-amp equalization. I don't think the difference will be notable - as long as you do not use a crappy - or too long - cable. Hmmm,... maybe I really need to test my basses... I am no fan of the rudimentary 3-band EQs on an instrument. I don't ever need the treble to be higher than neutral, and I never touch bass and mid, so I have 2 knobs that I constantly need to check if they are in the neutral position I want them in. As for giving your thin-sounding bridge pickup the oomph it needs, I find a 3-band EQ completely unsuitable for this. I use the _EQ balance_ on my Trace Elliot, which gives me an absolutely fantastic gnarly, bone dry mid bite that is far more than just cranking the parametric mid EQ on the instrument. I wonder why they don't make these any more. Come to think of it, I find current bass amps strangely wanting in sound shaping options. They have become really cheap and small and incredibly powerful, but the pre amp sections don't hold a candle to my 30-year-old GP12-SMX. Anyway, I really would have liked a comparison of the _same instrument_ in active and passive modes against each other - with matching EQ compensation.

[@slavesforging5361]

Why are so many people on here saying that active pickups on bass is rare? that's just not true. funk, metal, rock, and even jazz players often use active bass pickups these days. and it seems like everyone on here is confused between active pickups and active electronics. even most of the people that think they're not! i've never seen so much confusion in a simple, straight forward, and accurate video.

[@ChefNotSoWhites]

I wish they would put up tutorials and demos from people that knew what they were taking about. This discussion about passive vs. active pickups doesn’t apply to the demo here. Both basses have passive pickups. One just has a active preamp. There is a major difference between passive pickups with active preamps vs. active pickups with built in or with the addition of a preamp. Active pickups require a preamp regardless if they have an EQ or not.

[@l24dmarks]

One more thing to keep in mind - w. passive bass you need to pay more attention to the guitar cable quality and understand why the buffer is helpful.

[@doca9357]

hmm, had a gibson RD artist years ago, huge preamp with, two 3 way switches, was supposedly designed by Moog with Entwistle input, had a huge amount of possibilities, also had, still have a 1st year G&L L1000, single humbucker, bass/treble tones and a 3 way switch, dual, single and reverse polarity, still had plenty of umph and volume in double coil mode, matched the output of 2 of the 9 variations available from the gibson

[@btoledo90]

Jake, you likely don't read KZbin comments on these videos, but just in case you do... I just wanna say that, as a musician who grew up in your scene in Santa Fe, New Mexico, I am so fucking proud to see you making videos with Reverb. Keep up the good work.

[@evanpincus2203]

Benjamin Toledo Santa Fe represent!

[@nickandthecrisis]

Albuquerque here!

[@mattymodeerf]

love your wholesomeness bud

[@yocraigst]

Please, on another video, distinguish between basses with active pick-ups VS. basses with passive pick-ups but active pre-amp. Or is there a difference?

[@TinyDragon]

Thank you for telling people to unplug when not playing - a point people overlook

[@DAVIDGREGORYKERR]

There is also the Light-Wave or Opti-Pick guitar pickups that allow you to nylon or steel strings on your guitar, What about Telecaster Bass Guitar that can accommodate 2x PJ996 9 volt batteries.

[@rome8180]

The criticisms in the comments are fair, but I just want to say that the B-15N is my dream amp. I played on one once. I've never heard my bass sound better.

[@gregoryp203]

active bass isnt just a pre-amp and active tone controls. the pre-amp has a high input impedance thousands time higher than the input impedance of a standard bass amp. This makes more voltage sensitive than current sensitive this mitigates the resonance caused by the inductance of the pickup. Pickups colis are big inductors and inductors are low-pass filters. The way an inductor works as a low-pass filter has to do with the phase relationship it creates between voltage and current. By reducing current you reduce the low-pass effect of the pickup coil . Having an amp with a high input impedance makes it more sensitive to noise , so you want to put that amp as close to the signal source as possible . hence active onboard electronics. Also, if there are less windings there is further less inductance and therefore less low-pass filtering but less windings means low volume. Having an onboard amp allows you to have less windings without low volume since the amp amplifies.

[@coldfire2812]

wonderful video, thank you!

[@johnniedelong9322]

I hope next time I hope you get both bass guitars with the same pickups, good vide.

[@goncalomarques2711]

I use a Sire, and you have a switch to choose between passive and active, and I think if you know how to use it, is the best option

[@lcbryant78]

Gonçalo Marques tell me more about the sires, what are your complaints, does it adapt to pedals well?

[@maxonmendel5757]

Is there a way go install this into an already active bass?

[@kimseniorb]

@@lcbryant78 why wouldnt it? its a jazz bass

[@chrisl2206]

The P/J bass demoed here has the same feature.

[@bassimprovjams3772]

Cool video!! I absolutely love my stingrays!!! I would love a Jazz elite!!

[@danielmoriarty751]

Lmao!!!!!! A passive bass won’t cut through the mix now that’s some funny shit.

[@richardmilligan1410]

That's exactly what live in an arena sound engineers told Flea so he had to go back to his active Modulus. That was story I read years ago.

[@nrich5127]

If you are using a bass with "active electronics" when you switch the electronics off the pickups should become passive so you should have both options. However some basses might not have this optional switch.

[@karel2050]

The thing is passive basses have more character and you like it or not if you like the sound of a passive more than an active go for the passive but if you are a bit like meh maybe go for the active because you have more options with your sound. Passive basses must give you the sound that fits 100% with your liking.

[@rkharper]

Good player, but he talks BS. A passive bass doesn't cut through ?! Dude, you've got a battalion under your feet!!!!

[@mikkohirvela309]

Rafi Kirder Yeah, quite often it’s actually a passive p-bass what you need to cut through the mix.

[@pntballfreek]

Most cut I've ever had in a mix was a passive P bass through an Swr stack....dudes blowing smoke out his ass

[@drewmcdonald4082]

@@pntballfreek Right on - I run a passive P bass through a darkglass microtubes b7k ultra and an swr stack and I have to turn it DOWN

[@DMSProduktions]

It's because he has so MUCH mids scooped out!

[@EMan-tp4zp]

guy i know... bassist comes in and essentially doubles the Gibson Les PAul in tone. He had zero signature...best musician out of the bunch though. I strapped his bass (chinese P/J 5), turned the treble ON...seriously, thats how close they sounded. He is guilty of having a 5, yet tuning E to D. Dont get a 5 if you cant transpose well. Ya...Geezer Butler never cut through...probably found his bass under a porch couch. The space btwn the notes is where the music is found

[@johnbovay8353]

The tone is in neck: Thick neck, thick tone. As for passive vs active? Passive. The EQ is on the amp.

[@jd87fierogt]

Not counting my acoustic bass...active, I have a G&L L2000 and a Reverend Thundergun. The L2000 is active with a passive switch but I play passive 100% of the time. The Thundergun is passive but potent. Would I buy an active bass without a passive switch? Absolutely no need to. I'm definitely all about tone and I've already found perfection.

[@hodaridaniels8786]

I sort of prefer the active pickups because it has a beefier sound than a passive bass has, that's decibels of difference.

[@mudfly3]

9v batteries = why I wont EVER try active pickups...thanks for using a pick by the way

[@randomchannel-px6ho]

Passive P-bass and a nice set of flatwounds... that's the way, a passive Jazz bass can sound pretty nice to. Jack Stratton said it best.

[@GeroLubovnik]

To be honest, the Fender "active" bass in this demonstration sounded terrible but wasn't given a chance by changing any settings. The dude talks about active basses "shaping the sound" but didn't do any sound shaping. And IME the PJ basses never seem to sound the same as a straight-up P bass.

[@brucebrown885]

IMHO, active basses were largely rendered obsolete by the pedal revolution, boost, etc. Why carry the pre-amp/eq on your shoulder when you can drop the weight and put on the floor, or in a Bass Fly rig on top of your amp beside you? Also, I believe active basses generally don't record as well as passives. At least that's what engineers tell me... The most important thing that I didn't hear Jake didn't mention, though, is the the nuance issue. Low output passive PUs have more nuance, or "grease" as bassists put it. If you've got the technique and the touch, you can get more expressive nuance out of old low output passive PUs than active PUs of the same type. The actives run hotter, but they tend to be more ON and OFF, without some of that wonderful tonal shading you can get with low output passive PUs. Today you can use pedals or a Bass Fly Rig to give a passive bass a better EQ than active basses have, and make a passive bass run just as hot as any active bass -- while retaining the delicious tonal complexity that many active basses lack. This is part of why there has been such a big movement back toward traditional passive basses in recent years...

[@BartlettBlog]

Question regarding the active bass he uses in this video (Fender Deluxe Active P Bass Special), if you left the guitar plugged in, but used the toggle switch to switch to passive, does that save your battery from dying?

[@razzo2538]

Just have the best of both worlds, my Warwick is active and I can switch it to passive why not have a choice at your fingertips?

[@pitinhabitant]

Dude, you can also just take out the batteries

[@preciseaudioblog]

Nice vid. The only thing is that one of the basses has a bridge jb pickup, so for me is hard to get a clear idea of a sound difference between. Further more, it didn't say if the bridge pu was on or off (would've helped).

[@svtbass]

This guy always looks like he is in the middle of BURPING whenever he talks

[@normg2242]

😂😂😂

[@MikeLaRock88]

Right as I read this, I looked up @ 4:49 😂

[@ugmodude]

Jake. I love your info-packed videos. I was wondering can replace the pumps on my active Ibanez bass to passive pups and let the amp/pedals solve any potential volume problems? My preamp is fried but I love my bass.

[@slavesforging5361]

yes, but you have to replace your volume and tone pots as well. the resistance is different for active vs. passive potentiometers. most active systems run 25k pots. most passive run 250k or 500k. (fun note: the higher the resistance, the brighter your instrument will sound). Wait... what do you mean your pre-amp is fried? do you mean the pickups don't work? there is a difference between active electronics (coil tapping, coil splitting, etc.) and active pickups. if you have active pickups the preamp is built into the pickup and you'll never see it or know it's there. they're just pickups that use an internal pre amp to make them higher output.

[@gianlucabassi8853]

I bought an Active Yamaha and had a ton of noises in my combo. Sold brand new. With passive no noises at all.

[@yingcreen3457]

Thanks for insight and comparison. I appreciate it. Sadly, there's a lot of negative, unkind comments. ;-(

[@franklulatowskijr.6974]

Twenty five years into playing professionally. Actives are great when you need a boost but are mostly not necessary. Best thing to do is find a bass with a Passive/Active switch, but make sure that the passive mode can bypass the active circuit and won’t die if the pickups do. You’ll probably find yourself eventually going totally passive most of the time anyway.

[@busterrabbit]

Almost all "active basses" have standard passive pickups and a pre-amp, and most can be played without much change in tone or output, unless you are usually boosting active tone controls, in which case I'd turn up your amp gain instead.

[@El_drewskii]

All blues! Enjoyed that school in jazz band

[@ChefZak]

First active bass was the MM Stingray in 1977, and that had, and still has a passive pickup with active onboard preamp. "active pickups" did not become more popular in the 1960s.

[@jeffreywolcott5424]

Wasn’t an Alembic the first active bass "

[@ChefZak]

@@jeffreywolcott5424 Actually that's correct, the Stingray was the first production bass with active electronics.

[@jasoncarraway966]

That is a real gem of a pbass right there damn. Dude sounds much better on the passive P

[@plinkbottle]

Cort GB series, has active with the turn of a switch and equalizers.

[@osees5197]

I prefer active if I'm not about to spend a lot of money on the bass itself, it just makes it sound better, but if I got a lot of money to drop on a nice bass it ain't gonna need no fucking batteries to play it

[@Roeg0227]

idk who this guy is, but i like the way he speaks

[@sergiomiskell8713]

Is there a point in buying and learning the bass just for enjoyment or do you have to be a musician? I'm interested in playing bass but just did not know if it is "wasting my money"

[@bartlomiejzakrzewski5195]

Great info

[@WakizashiSabre]

Active for me.

[@michaelstephenson6390]

I'm pretty sure the real difference here was the fact that one of the two basses had one more bridge pickup while the other just had the one in the middle. That's why the active one cut better. It's not because it was active. Bridge pickups always cut better then middle or neck pickups. It's not about whether it's active or passive. It's wire coils versus batteries. One of the two you don't have to worry about going out on you in the middle of a gig and if set up properly will be noiseless. Parallel wiring is virtually noiseless and that's the standard for modern pickups. If you want to boost the signal use a pedalboard. In my experience passive tends to have a fuller sound then active.